She is the Sunlight
by lionheartedbookworm
Summary: Phillip is plagued with nightmares after his soul is returned to his body. Phillip/Aurora


Because my philora feels are quite strong lately. This isn't much but I hope you all enjoy.

Review please.

* * *

**Everything is dark**  
**It's more than you can take**  
**But you catch a glimpse of sunlight **  
**Shining, shining down on your face**

* * *

_Smoke blinded him, choked him. It was everywhere. It was heavy and harsh on the once beautiful land, destroying everything that once held beauty. The people were dead._ His_ people. _Her_ people. The ones they were meant to reign over. The ones who had loved them and hoped this curse would never come upon them. A roar filled the air, the sound otherworldly. The earth trembled. He groped his way through the smoke, attempting to find something to grasp, find a way out._

_He could have run away, could have chosen this wasn't worth it._

_But it was. It all was._ She_ was._

_He would fight, push his way through the smoke and find his way across the ravaged land. The castle would come into view, and his steps would become hurried, rushed._

_The ground continued to tremble with each heavy step of the monstrous sorceress._

_His sword would seem dull as he chopped at the thorns. It seemed that as he slashed at the heavy branches, more would grow into place._

_But he would not give up. He would never give up._

_His body was weary from the weight of his armor. But he didn't falter._

_Eventually he would somehow get to the tower. Everything would be at peace. The roaring would stop for a brief moment as he crossed the threshold._

_He would come so close, his fingers would brush along her jaw. He could feel her warm breath, see her fingers flex in her sleep. His sweet princess would slumber on, waiting for his kiss, waiting for him to break her curse._

_He would look up, to speak to his valiant warrior companion. But she wouldn't be there. _

_The dragon sorceress would give him a rather morbid smile. Before he could even react, the dragon's fiery breath would consume his beloved princess._

* * *

The nightmares had come when his soul had been returned to his body. He never knew when to anticipate them. Some nights he didn't dream at all. Some nights he dreamed of the life he was supposed to have with Aurora, had his soul not been sucked. How they would have saved their people left behind, how they would have reigned together, just as they were always planned to do.

But fate was not kind to them.

He was locked in a nightmare when his soul had been sucked. He screamed night and day with the other lost souls, their voices a mix of anguish and torment. He was half mad when his eyes opened to find Mulan and Aurora staring at him with astonished expressions.

Somehow they ended up in this town, Storybrooke. It was completely different than what he knew. He was meant to be a king, with Aurora as his queen. They were meant to rule their people firmly, but kindly. They were meant to have a kingdom of their own, a life where they would need nothing but each other. He was supposed to give her everything she could ever want. But the land was ravaged and destroyed, and the people were gone. There was nothing to go back to any longer.

This foreign land that they were to call home was nothing like they had ever seen before. There were strange carriages and odd clothing and a variety of foreign foods. It was hard to get used to everything here. They had talking boxes and torches that could be lit with a single flick of a lever. It was all so new to him, and disorienting. But he was with Aurora, he was finally reunited with his true love. And that was what mattered. She had saved him, Mulan as well, and they were happy here. He could be happy too. His life was with Aurora, and wherever she was, he would be.

They had been apart for much too long.

Aurora seemed freer. She wore pretty dresses and curled her honey locks and was every bit the princess she was in their homeland. But she was no longer afraid. She was happy. Like a bird that had once been caged and then set free, Aurora fluttered about like the wind carried her. She seemed to sing all day every day. Such happiness from his true love made Phillip's heart swell.

Mulan had told him how Aurora had been without him. He had done what was best for her, what was best for Mulan. But knowing that his princess had looked death in the face and dared it to dance with her left him awestruck. She was willing to risk her life for a group of women she had only just met. She had been despairing, and yet remained true and strong.

It made him fall even deeper in love with her.

* * *

Despite how happy the daylight hours were, the night was what he dreaded most.

Nothing could block out the nightmares.

A man who he had known in their world as the Mad Hatter offered him a special herb that could help him sleep.

It wasn't the getting to sleep that was hard. No, in fact, it was quite easy to fall into a deep sleep all curled up with Aurora. Adjusting to their new lives in this new town was exhausting. It was easy to fall asleep.

It was what came in his sleep.

Aurora had shared with him how she had lived through a nightmare for twenty eight years. And even after she woke from the curse, the nightmares still plagued her mind. But with Phillip back, her nightmares seemed to disappear. His love was chasing her fears away. Sometimes they would return to her, but he would always be there for her. He would hold her close and comfort her and she would fall back asleep. She was finally getting some real sleep for the first time in twenty eight years. She had nothing to fear any longer. She was safe, she had her love, she could sleep. Nothing could harm her.

While her nightmares were from her curse of the red burning room, his were completely different. His were memories, vivid memories. Memories where he had been valiant and strong. But the endings, when he was happy and triumphant, would always end in anguish. What he had wanted would always be ripped from him. His sacrifices would have been in vain.

* * *

_He was trapped, never to be freed. Fire burned him, the flames never extinguishing. He was locked in a body that was not his own. He was a monster. Everywhere he went, destruction followed. _

_The Yaoguai._

_He wanted to be free. The monstrous sorceress had cursed him, made him something his subjects that once loved him now fled from. _

_This time, there was no lionhearted bookworm to extinguish him, to understand his anguish. _

_In the end, his flames burned his kingdom to the ground, taking his cursed princess with it._

* * *

Aurora remembered how frightened she had been the first time he had a nightmare. They had only been reunited for a day. It was the day they had first arrived in Storybrooke. Mulan and Aurora were disoriented enough by being in such a new place. But Phillip had the biggest adjustment. He had just left a hellish dreamworld and been thrust into a completely new world with his soul reunited with his body. The three had been exhausted, and were brought to Granny's Inn.

It had been so peaceful at first. They were allowed to bathe and were given fresh clothes. Aurora had snuggled up to her prince for the first time after twenty eight years.

He was so warm, so gentle as he held her close. Aurora couldn't remember feeling so at peace. He was finally with her again. There was no more sorrow in her soul. He wasn't going to disappear. She fell asleep easily against his chest, his warm musk reminding her of days when nothing else mattered but their happiness.

When he'd woken in the night screaming, Aurora nearly jumped out of her skin. He frightened her. This was her sweet Phillip, her prince who wasn't afraid of anything. This was the prince who had looked a dragon in the face and grinned that boyish smile. This was the prince who endured numerous battles and trials to merely kiss her wake her from her curse. Phillip was a brave man, a fighter. The man sitting up beside her now was not the same man.

What hell had he endured?

He was drenched in sweat, his hands pulling on the cotton shirt he wore anxiously. "No...no...Aurora...no..." He cried.

Aurora was quick to take his hands, not bothering to fumble around with the strange nobs on the lamp near their bed. Snow had always said her husband would light her a candle to keep the nightmares away. But she wasn't about to leave Phillip for that either. Not when he was so distressed. Her small fingers squeezed his hands, and he flinched instantly, his glazed brown eyes scanning her face in the darkness.

"Phillip...Phillip...it's me...hey, I'm right here..." She assured him, lifting one hand to touch his face.

He didn't believe her. He wasn't completely awake. "Another trick? No...no...why this torment? My love...my sweet love...I failed, I failed." He whispered in anguish, tearing his hands out of hers.

"Darling...please...you failed nothing. You're here, with me. I'm right here with you. We're together again, just like we always should be."

Phillip made out her small form beside him in bed, the moonlight hitting her mess of amber waves. He lifted a shaking hand and touched her cheek, his breathing erratic. "Aurora?" He whispered. "I'm scared to believe this isn't still a dream...I can't...I can't lose you again."

"I'm real. I'm right here." She leaned up and wrapped her arms around him, her fingers brushing through his curly hair. "Everything is okay...it wasn't real, Phillip. It was a nightmare."

His hands hovered over her for a moment, before he desperately held her against him, clutching her as tight as he could. She swore she felt teardrops against her neck.

"I thought I lost you again."

"Shh...shh..." She shushed soothingly, her heart aching at the few agonized sobs that escaped him. "You won't ever lose me again, I promise. We can finally be happy, my love. I promise, I promise. Shh..."

She held him for a long while, humming to him and rocking him slightly, doing anything she could to comfort him. She knew how it felt to wake up from a nightmare and have no one to hold her close and promise it would be okay. True she never woke up alone on her expedition with the other girls, but at the same time, there was something about the comfort of your true love that was much different.

He finally pulled away, his lips finding hers in a searing kiss. He held her close, his lips as desperate as the kiss he had left her with before he sacrificed himself to the wraith. A kiss like this frightened her. He was so desperate, so scared. He kissed her with everything in him, like he was drowning and she was oxygen. When he finally pulled away, they were left breathless.

The kiss seemed to wake him. When she looked up at his figure in the dark, she caught the slightest glimmer of a smile in the moonlight.

"I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too." She murmured without skipping a beat, her fingers raking through his hair.

"I'm sorry I woke you." He sighed before she could even say anything else.

"Do you want to tell me about it? The nightmare? It might help." She suggested gently. Phillip had made the ultimate sacrifice for her. He had given up his life so that she would be safe and live on, even if that meant without him. Missing a few hours of sleep to comfort her sweet prince would hardly be enough to make up for that.

His thumb brushed along her cheek, and he kissed her softly before pulling away. "I'll be alright, my love. I don't want to worry you. Come on, let's try to go back to sleep."

They lay back down and he held her close, his fingers playing with her hair and keeping her firmly in place at his side.

When Phillip was despairing, Aurora found she was too.

* * *

_His princess would wake, her gasp of air and bright eyes opening enough to bring a smile to his face. She would smile and whisper his name and he would kiss her._

_He had done it. His princess had woken from her curse. He had saved her._

_Mulan would give them their time. He knew his warrior friend cared for him, probably on a deep level. And while he admired her and cared for her, Aurora was his true love. She understood that. She wanted his happiness._

_Amidst the reunion, t__he wraith would always attack, there was no stopping it from happening._

_But it would be gone just as fast as it arrived._

_Instead of him grabbing the medallion, Aurora would curiously approach it. Before he could ever stop her, her hand would be marked._

_And he would lose his princess again._

* * *

The daylight made them happy. Everything was easier. Nightmares couldn't touch them when the sun's rays warmed their skin.

Phillip liked taking Aurora on walks around Storybrooke. They would share milkshakes and waffles, (Aurora's favorites), and he would buy her flowers. She liked riding a strange metal contraption called a bicycle. It was hard for them to learn at first, but they easily picked up on it. Sometimes the inhabitants of Storybrooke would have what seemed like mini-balls, and they could go dancing like they used to.

He had missed the way her small hand fit perfectly with his, how happy she had made him. Everything with her felt so very natural. He soaked in every moment of her, storing in his heart the perfect way the sunlight glinted in her honey curls, or how her nose scrunched up when she laughed. And oh, how melodious her laugh was.

She had been so strong, had fought through so much. Without him. And now he was struggling, and she was there for him every step of the way.

It was almost wrong, really.

He was the one who should have protected her, who should have never left her. He'd known enough stories from Mulan. He'd _been _one of the monsters from those stories. He often looked back on that day when he was marked and wished he had just left it alone, left the medallion behind.

He could have been there for Aurora. He would have never lived through that nightmare of his soul being sucked from his body. He could have rebuilt their kingdom, could have been there for Aurora and Mulan.

Aurora's bright blue gaze flickered up to his as they stood together by the harbor. The sunset cast beautiful colors over the water and made everything seem to glow. Aurora loved to watch the sun go down and see the beauty of the sky's changing colors. "Phillip?" She questioned, her eyebrows lifting slightly in concern. "Are you alright?"

He lifted his hands and gently cupped her face. She smiled shyly at him, and he couldn't help but chuckle softly at her pink cheeks. She may have been in different clothes and in a different land, but she was still his princess. "I'm just fine, my love."

"I know the nightmares still come." Her small hands came to rest on his chest. His steady heartbeat calmed her, reminded her that he was right there with her. He was real and alive and not a figment of her imagination. "Mine too. But I know yours are worse. I just...I wish you would tell me what they are about. I could help, you know."

"I know you could, Aurora." He sighed, his brown eyes flickering over her beautiful face. He brushed his thumbs gently over her cheeks. "My nightmares are usually about losing you." He kissed her forehead.

"You wo-"

"I know." He laughed. "I know, my love." He pulled back with a warm smile. "Nothing will ever tear us apart. Never again."

"I've missed you." She murmured. "I wish I could help you."

Her soft whisper astonished him. Didn't she see how much she did for him? Didn't she realize that her love was what kept him alive? "You are, Aurora. You are."

He couldn't help but kiss her. His sweet Aurora. She was his sunlight, his dawn. Her warmth and kind spirit was everything he needed. The nightmares could still come for both of them. But when he woke, he could see that they were all a farce. The sunlight wrapped up in his sweet princess at his side with her bluebell eyes would make him realize that he had succeeded. Good triumphed over evil. They had won.

The nightmares would never last forever. The horrors of the night did not compare to the happiness of the day.


End file.
